News

The head of NATO’s intelligence and security division, Ambassador Arndt Freytag von Loringhoven, started three days of talks in Skopje on Monday (21 January 2019) focused on reforming the country’s defence and security institutions.

From 20 to 21 January 2019, NATO Deputy Secretary General Rose Gottemoeller paid an official visit to Israel, to discuss practical cooperation activities between NATO and Israel. She met with representatives from Israel’s legislative body, the Knesset, in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem to exchange views on current developments in the region.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg visited the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation (EUROCONTROL) on Friday (18 January 2019) to meet Director General Eamonn Brennan and reaffirm the close collaboration between the two organisations.

A US Navy Admiral has assumed command of NATO’s Standing NATO Maritime Group (SNMG) 1, taking over from a Royal Danish Navy Commodore. In a ceremony marking the hand-over in Copenhagen on Monday (14 January 2019), Rear Admiral Edward Cashman of the US Navy said: “The North Atlantic is a bridge that connects the Allies, not a barrier that separates them. That connectivity is even stronger today and more important than ever to our security and to our prosperity." Rear Admiral Cashman will command the group from the new flagship, the USS Gravely. At the same ceremony, the Royal Danish Navy’s Commander Peter Krogh took command of Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group (SNMCMG) 1, succeeding a Belgian Navy commander.

On the 10th and 11th of January, a group of distinguished Algerian academics and university professors visited NATO Headquarters in the framework of our public diplomacy activity.

The Polish air force on Thursday (3 January 2019) took over the lead for NATO’s air policing mission in the Baltic states from the Belgian Air Force. In a ceremony at Lithuania’s Šiauliai airbase General Tod Wolters, Commander Allied Air Command welcomed the Polish Air Force detachment and commended the Belgian Air Force for having kept the Baltic airspace safe during their four months tour.

German forces on Tuesday (1 January 2019) took the lead for NATO’s Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF), providing thousands of soldiers to be on standby and ready to deploy within days. Germany takes over from Italy, which provided the VJTF lead brigade in 2018.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg had a phone call today with Mr Ramush Haradinaj of Kosovo. He informed Mr Haradinaj that the North Atlantic Council had an initial discussion on the recently adopted laws on the transition of the Kosovo Security Force (KSF). The Secretary General informed Mr Haradinaj that, as the mandate of the KSF is evolving, the North Atlantic Council will re-examine NATO’s level of engagement with the KSF in the new year. NATO will continue its KFOR mission to ensure a safe and secure environment in Kosovo. KFOR operates under a UN mandate and will not be affected by the laws on the transition of KSF. The Secretary General will continue his engagement with all actors relevant for regional stability.

NATO Allies have agreed the civil and military budgets for 2019. At a meeting of the North Atlantic Council on Tuesday (18 December 2018), Allies agreed a civil budget of €250.5 million and a military budget of €1.395 billion for 2019. All member countries contribute to these budgets, according to an agreed cost-sharing formula based on Gross National Income. In the face of a more demanding security environment, NATO continues to adapt – including through the modernization of the NATO Command Structure, and a functional review of the Alliance’s Headquarters in Brussels.

On 17 December 2018, representatives from Norway, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the European Union, as well as Ambassador Alejandro Alvargonzález, NATO Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs and Security Policy, signed the Building Integrity (BI) Executing Agent Arrangement for the fourth phase of the BI Trust Fund for 2019-2022.